Santa Barbara Posts 95-79 Win Over Irvine but Coach Displeased

The sellout crowd of 6,000 in UC Santa Barbara’s Events Center--known affectionately in these parts as The Thunderdome--was enjoying a raucous “10 and 0, 10 and 0” chant Saturday night, but Gaucho Coach Jerry Pimm wasn’t smiling.

Sure, his team had beaten UC Irvine, 95-79. And, granted, the Gauchos had won their Big West Conference opener to remain one of just four unbeaten Division I teams in the country. But Pimm didn’t think much of his team’s second-half performance . . . or second-half intensity level . . . or second-half attitude.

“We’ve got to regroup and get our defense going,” he said. “If we’re going to be successful, we’re going to have to play hard for 40 minutes.”

Regroup? If the Gauchos need to regroup, then the Anteaters ought to retire. Twenty minutes was plenty of time to bury Irvine on this evening.

Pimm was quick to point out that his displeasure was in no way a reflection on Irvine (3-8 overall and 0-2 in the Big West), which he cordially referred to as “a pretty darn good team.”

Before the game, Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said the best way to describe Santa Barbara was “effective,” and, in the first half Saturday, the Gauchos went about the business of winning their 10th straight in typically effective fashion.

When Irvine decided to sag on inside players Mike Doyle and Eric McArthur, Santa Barbara went outside to guard Carrick DeHart, who made 6 of 8 shots from the field--including 2 of 2 3-pointers--for 14 first-half points.

Doyle and McArthur were content to stay under the boards and get rebounds. Doyle had 8 and McArthur 6 before halftime. At the half, Santa Barbara outrebounded Irvine, 22-6.

The Gauchos’ tenacious man-to-man defense also forced Irvine into a ragged free-lance offense, and the Anteaters trailed, 49-36, at halftime.

At that point, Pimm walked off the floor smiling.

“We came in trying to take away the post, and they killed us from outside,” Mulligan said. “So, in the second half, we played the post straight and Doyle goes off. I don’t know if they have any weaknesses. I mean, we shot 50% in the first half and were down by 13.”

Balance is the byword in Santa Barbara these days and that has been the key to the Gauchos’ consistency. Doyle led them with 25 points, DeHart had 22 and reserve guard Mike Elliott a career-high 15.

“Overall, this was a good win,” Pimm said, “but I can’t be pleased with the way we played. We completely lost our intensity, and that shows most on defense and the boards. I mean, they got 29 rebounds in the second half (to Santa Barbara’s 21). And we were at least a step behind on defense.”

The Gauchos’ uninspired play didn’t help Irvine much; the Anteaters were still outscored by 3 points in the second half.

Irvine’s Mike Doktorczyk made 7 shots in a row, after missing his first of the night, and finished with team highs in points (23) and rebounds (8). Brother Rob, playing in only his third game because of knee problems, scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Kevin Floyd, who had just 2 points in the first half, added 14 and Rod Palmer 12.

“We came out kind of flat, and I think we let the crowd get to us a little,” Mike Doktorczyk said. “But the rebounding was the reason they won. I think they’re a good team, but we came in here feeling like we could play with them.”

The Anteaters’ 91-90 upset of UCLA Dec. 28 may have boosted their confidence a bit too high, though.

“I think we were living off the UCLA game,” Mulligan said. “We’ve got to be more aggressive and run the offense once in a while.”

Irvine stayed close for the first 10 minutes of the game before the Gauchos started to pull steadily away. Mike Doktorczyck hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut UCSB’s lead to 25-24, but the Gauchos went on a 13-4 streak, and the Anteaters never got closer than 8again.

Santa Barbara remains unranked, but No. 20 Georgia lost this week. So far, however, the Gauchos have been thriving on their unranked-and-unnoticed aura.

When asked if he thought Santa Barbara would crack the top 20 next week, DeHart said: “You know something? I’ve stopped looking at the paper.

“It doesn’t matter what other people think of us. It’s just when you look in the mirror that really counts. I think we feel pretty good about ourselves.”

That’s OK for now, but the Gauchos may not want to look into that mirror too soon after Pimm makes them look at the tape of Saturday’s second half.